Monthly Archives: August 2014

Day 268

It felt as if we were traveling in Thailand again. Miles and miles of sugar cane fields, tropical palm trees here and there amongst other subtropical vegetation. How sweet was the smell of sugar factories! Maybe it was that blend of organic grassy raw sweet fragrance that made us hungrier than usual. We were told by some locals that they also burn the sugar cane fields before they harvest, so the downside of the sweet smell was black ashes floating in the air.

A local fish shop put down advertisement boards for seafood along the road. As we were going at a much slower pace than the traffic, the effect was much more pronounced. Before long, all I could think of was some fatty salmon for dinner. Chopper was more than happy to oblige when I told him my dinner plan – pan seared salmon with soy sauce, over fried vegetables with garlic and brown rice mixed with sesame oil.

The salmon was the perfect motivation to get us quickly into Ayr. We chose a caravan park in hope to take advantage of the camp kitchen, and quickly showered and got ready for cooking. However the kitchen was occupied by young backpackers and their dirty dishes. Some were laying across the benches in front of the tables, others sitting on top. I made room by cleaning the table, and they only moved to avoid the debris and filth falling off the table. Dancing around to avoid garbage piles and grease spots, we managed to cook up the meal with disco music blasting in the background. I’ve been thinking about doing some farm work through the working holiday visa, but I have to wonder how I would fit in with a bunch of young, party hardy backpackers.

We took our food to another sitting area hoping to eat in peace, but only to find ourselves squeezed in among a small group of large caravaners. Often we are in between and wonder where the all the people our age are. Probably working. We received the normal long winded cautionary advice followed by a tiresome monologue about where the they would vacation in the states, how they would travel, how long in each place the would stay and the names of the various hotels they would stay at. We were warned that the Burdekin Bridge south of Ary would be a death trap. It would be a long bridge with a steep incline and zero shoulder, cars would be going 100km and not slow down for pushbikes. Can’t wait to see if any of these warnings would be true.

Day 267

After staying in Townsville for almost a week, we were both sad to leave and eager to get on the road again. We will definitely miss the quality conversations with our friends in Townsville, since most likely the conversations with fellow travelers on the road tend to be quick, basic and repetitive.

The weekend long ride left me longing for our good old-fashioned slow travel. A free rest area called Alligator Creek 22 km away looked perfect from the comments on WikiCamps – a free hot shower and a grassy camp site are all we need. At a leisurely pace we reached the destination and squeezed in between caravans to set up camp.

I was anxious about riding on the notorious Bruce Highway, but it turned out to be another false rumor to deter cyclists. Getting out of Townsville was a bit hairy since there were constructions on the road, but as soon as we were out of the city gravity it was smooth roads through glorious scenery. The traffic wasn’t exactly light but there was always a shoulder.

We were invited by our neighbors, a young couple from New Caledonia, to coffee. They managed to fit work into their traveling lifestyle, the girl being a teacher and writer and the guy being a cartoonist. As we chatted, Chopper got his first cartoon portrait done. Our neighbor on the other side was a true professional traveler who has been traveling and working around Australia since 16 years old. Chopper went over to check out his swag, and later we learned from him that a comet is passing by Mars and it is visible from the earth at midnight. It was normal that we get astronomical news from cowboys these days.

Day 265 – 266

Our last hurrah in Townsville was a circuitous cycle tour into the mountains, along a 70 km dirt road, wild camp and then back to base. Mick and Jen would take their trusty tandem – the Duet, while Ian would ride his moustache handlebarred road bike with a trailer, and of course Cher and I on the trikes.

The Duet by Mick and Jen

We have been asked by numerous people, are they fast? And now we had a definitive answer. No. Although we were carrying much less gear than normal and we just completed a 2,500 km ride, and had plenty of rest, we were slow. Not too slow but not nearly as fast as a bike with road tires or a tandem. However, they were quite patient and stopped from time to time so we could catch up.

Early on we had a long climb out of the coastal plains into the mountains, and by noon we had done 50 km and ate had lunch and coffees at a little mountain top cafe. 30 kms later we left the pavement and entered a sandy gravel track. The trikes were made for this. Our front suspension ate up ruts and potholes while our three wheels gave us stability as we slid through sandy patches. The others were white knuckled but still faster than us.

By 4 we had completed 115 km and were setting up camp. Mick had chosen a secluded spot next to river without crocodiles. We lit a fire, and settled in for more great conversation, aided by the 3 bottles of wine we brought for the 4 of us.

Well rested, we set out early with a picturesque blue sky filled with white clouds puffed at regular intervals. Cher and I had already passed through this stretch and knew what to expect, a nice long downhill into town. Even though we started earlier than others, the crew caught us easily and passed us, but waited once again. We finished around 3pm and were treated by yet more hospitality when Mick and Jen insisted that they cook.

Emotionally well rested, we were prepared to set off for Brisbane, our first climbing destination, and our first long rest from the road.

Day 262 to 264

When Mick ordered our rear cassettes, I asked if we could come back and stay the night when they came in, and he said it was fine. We had no idea that they would arrive so quickly. Back at The Bicylce Peddlar, we discovered that our new cassettes were quite different from our custom cassettes from ICE. They were lacking the largest cog, which gives us the lowest gear. Capreo cassettes come riveted together, so Mick got out the Dremel, separated the cogs and reassembled our cassettes including the largest cog. Our large cogs were still in great shape since we only use them on the steepest of inclines.

Mechanic at work

Since Mick and Jen invited us to do an overnight cycle trip that weekend, we figured we might as well see if we could stay with them in the interim. We wouldn’t have thought it rude if they said no. Jen is finishing up a degree in Audiology and Mick just opened his new bike shop 3 months earlier. However, after a brief meeting they agreed that we could stay. We were overjoyed but still hoped that we hadn’t put them on the spot, although they insisted that we were easy guests.

Without a second thought they made us at home. Cher and I have only been in one home in the last 9 months and they pretty much left us with the keys and said see you later. Being alone in someone’s home you’ve just met is a little strange. First they were being incredibly trustworthy, which we didn’t take for granted, checking that the windows and doors were locked several times before we left, and secondly they were uncommonly generous. How else to make oneself at home than to cook? Cher and I took over the kitchen and cooked dinners, which also made us feel a little less guilty for crashing their house.

In the meantime we had shelter, internet and electricity so while Cher caught up with e-mails, and the blog, I got started trying to get cash into an account I could access. Many phone calls later, to both HSBC in Hong Kong and Ally Bank in the US, I think I figured out why our wire transfers weren’t going through, even though they were before. If they didn’t go through we had one last option, we took a day and opened a bank account here in Australia. However, my US account with Ally Bank is quite good and charges nothing for international ATM withdrawals and even refunds ATM fees. I refreshed the web page and hit send, hoping that this time the transfer would go through. Otherwise our net purchase would be a trip back to Hong Kong.